The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2589 page)

 
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(d. 655 (AH 35))
. Third caliph (
khal
fa
), who was an early convert to Islam. He married the Prophet Mu
ammad's daughters, Rukaiya and (after her death) Umm Kulthum. Upon election as caliph he promised to follow and develop ‘Umar's policies of uniformity in religion and government. It was during his time that Islamic conquests reached their peak, bringing with them novel problems of the relation between the original community and the newly acquired territories. ‘Uthm
n, already old, was unequal to these difficulties. He began to rely on his ‘Umayyah family, and was consequently accused of nepotism and corruption. Opposition to ‘Uthm
n came to be represented in the figures of
‘
’isha
(Prophet Mu
ammad's favourite wife) and
‘Al
, with the introduction of a religious accusation that ‘Uthm
n was not following the precepts of the Qur’
n and the Prophet. ‘Uthm
n's circulation of the official edition of the Qur’
n, to preserve uniformity in religion, precipitated a chain of events that led to his assassination: the
Qurra
(‘Qur’
n-reciters’) had been the expositors of the sacred text and had exercised great influence over the new converts, which gave them religious prestige and authority in the provinces. ‘Uthm
n's official Qur’